ferry



(No Model.)

B. R. PERRY.

v DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING HATS. No. 461,827. Patented 00t.27,1891.

2-7914. fig: 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD R. FERRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AS SIGNOR TO CAROLINE N. FERRY, OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING HATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,827, dated October 27, 1891.

I Application filed May 20, 1891. Serial No. 393,501. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD R. FERRY, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Displaying Hats, of which the following is a specification.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the specification. IO Figure 1 represents an outside view of shield made of any suitable material and of such shape that it may be easily put over the front and rear brims of hats to prevent their getting outof shapeinhandling; Fig. 2, an inside view of hat, showing the shields S S in position; Fig. 3, a front View of an oblong box B, propped at an angle, with cover 0 removed and showing five hats entirely separated from each other, and also the manner they are held in position by the elongated rack R; Figs. 4 and 5, views of racks and hat-holders R and R in modified form; Fig. 6, a cross-section of box B with cover 0.

S in Fig. 1 represents the shield. This can be made of leather, pasteboard, cloth, or any cheap flexible material desired. Two pieces of material approximating 'a half-circle are united at the circumferential edges in any preferred way, and a small pocket is thus formed. 0 Into this pocket the end brim of each hat is forced before it is packed into the box by being inserted in the racks. v This shield rather stiifens the brim and prevents its being warped or bent out of shape as the hats are from time to time removed by the salesman. It also prevents any abrasion or crushing of the felt of brim, which might injure sale of the hats.

The rack, which is shown detached in Fig. 40 4, is made from a continuous strip of wire or thin sheet metal. The rack of wire in Fig. 3 is lettered R and the rack of sheet metal in Fig. 4 R. This rack, which must be continuous and which may take the one hat or a dozen, is secured, as seen in Fig. 3, by being passed through the end of the box and clinched, or headed down in any way, wellv known to an ordinary mechanic. The Wire or sheet-metal rack, whether intended to hold one hat or a series, is bent, as seen in Figs. 1 and 4, and also in modified form in Fig. 5, so

thata recess for the brim is formed. In Figs. 3 and 5 this recess is angular at its rear. In Fig. 4 it is made with rounded edges. The wire or metal of the rack, after leaving the brim-recess, extends downward to a greater or less length in a perpendicular line, which forms a shoulder, as seen at the point in Fig. 5, where is found the letter R This shoul der, which should be practically perpendicu- 6o lar or in a line parallel to the side of the box upon which the rack is fixed, serves to prevent the movement of the body of the hat, thus adding to the security of displacement in case the brims should not readily fit the recess made in the rack to embrace it. I11 Fig. 4 the metal of the rack, (for convenience of removing a hat,) after it forms the gripping-recess 7 of this form, and after it forms the perpendicular short shoulder to rest against and confine the hat-body, is formed into a semicircular recess, as seen at 8. It will readilybe seen that H is the hat in position. The figures '7, 7 37i, 850., in Fig. 3, denote the size of each hat, so that salesmen can know the same without removing the hat. In modified form shown in Fig. 5 the same style of rack is used, but only long enough for a single hat. There is the same recess to seize the brim and the same shoulder parallel to the side of box to sustain the body of the hat. The whole receiver is from a continuous wire or piece of flexible thin sheet metal. In this short rack the metal ends are secured by an ordinary paper-fastener or analogous piece of flexible metal. Upon removing the cover of the box, each hat, first being furnished with the brim protectors or shields S, is inserted. between the gripping-jaws of the rack that forms the recess for the same. Each hat be- 0 ing placed in position the hats can, be displayed properly and handled Without injury to the brim or crown. Only a single hat is removed'as needed, in place of having to remove from the usual hat-box each hat in or- 5 der to get at the bottom one.

This improvement consists of a box, open at one side,in which each hat is held in place by means ofa continuous wire or Wires or a sheet of thin metal fastened at ends and along the length at various places, if desired, said wire or metal bent suitable shape to receive brims of hats and hold them separate from each other at suitable distance to prevent hats from touching each other, and so that the entire part of each hat can be clearly seen at a glanceand a single one removed as sold without touching or interfering with any other hat. pasteboard, 830., but aims to keep the hats entirely separate and prevent brims and crowns from becoming indented, and at the same time allows the hats to be removed at pleasure. This will be a great convenience to salesmen, as upon removal of cover of box each hat is in view full length, so that the style and size may be selected without delay and without removing but a single hat, and the balance of hats in box remain in original position entirely undisturbed, and the same boX might also serve to transport the hats when sold,.if desired. So far as I know, all devices for hat display require every hat in the box to be taken from the box in order to get at the bottom hat, and I know of none where the shape and size of hats can be ascertained without removal from the box. If. desired, the racks which hold the hats may be made of suitable shape to receive and hold the side brims of hats, and thus allow the hats to be put into the box endwise instead of sidewise, and sothe front view of hats will be displayed instead of side view. I also prefer to use a shield made of the shape of hat-brims front This arrangement requires no rings of and rear to he slipped over brims, which will avoid any abrasion which might occur and prevent brims from getting out of shape in handling.

I claim- 1. A box for the display of hats open at one side and provided on opposite'interior sides with racks for holding the hats in position, said racks consisting of the continuous strips bent to form shoulders for supporting the hatbodies, and outwardly-extending recesses to receive and hold the hat-brims, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The improved rack for hat display, consisting of the single continuous pieces of metal bent to form the brim-gripping recess 7, the hat-body shoulder or support R and secured to a box by its upset or surged-down ends, all as and for the purposes described.

3. In combination with the metal racks, with gripping-recesses to hold the brims of the hats and shoulders to sustain the body of the same against lateral movement, the shield S, to prevent bending and wear of brims, all as and for the purposes set forth.

Dated at New York city this 11th day of May,.189 1.

RICHARD R. FERRY.

\Vitnesses:

FERNANDO B. IIEssE, GEO. H. HEoKMAN. 

